Slicing machine



Oct. 30, 1934. c. E. BREADEN 1,978,929

. SLICING MACHINE Filed June 13, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet l Flt-3.1. f

Oct. 30, 1934. c. E. BREADEN 1,978,929

SLICING MACHINE Oct. 30, 1934- c. E. BREADEN SLICING MACHINE 5 SheetsSheet 5 Snvcutoz Filed June 13, 1930 Qct. 30, 1934. E, BREADEN 1,978,929

SLICING MACHINE Filed June 15, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 30, 1934. Q EBREADEN 1,978,929 'SLICING MACHINE Filed Juhe 13, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 yam/010M010 avwenboz Patented Oct. 30, 1934 UNITED sr rEs PATENT UFFICE mesne assignments, to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 13, 1930, Serial No. 460,920

7 Claims. (01. 146-402) This invention relates to slicing machines and is particularly directed to slicing machines in which the article to be sliced is manually fed I to a motor driven cutting knife.

In general, the object of this invention is to improve the various parts of a slicing machine.

More specifically, an object of the invention is to provide a slicing machine in which the articleholding feeding carriage may be moved past -a knife without encountering any obstructions from the knife guard which would limit the stroke of the carriage.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for supporting and housing a grinding device so as to provide a rear wall for the grinding device lying in the same plane as the knife edge and serving as an article abutment and as a guard for the rear knife edge.

Still another object is to provide an improved -means for receiving the scrap which falls from the knife during a cutting operation.

Another object is also to provide novel means for supporting the gauge plate housing from the knife supporting frame.

Another object is still further to provide means for guarding the knife which may be easily placed Without removing it from the machine in inoperative position to permitaccess to the knife for cleaning or other purposes.

Still further another object of the invention is to provide a novel scraping construction for cleaning the knife.

Various other. objects and advantages of my invention will be obvious from the following particular description of one form of mechanism embodying the invention or from an inspection of the accompanying drawings; and the invention also constitutes certain new and novel features 'of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed. i

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the feeding side of the slicer.

Fig. 2 is a side view, of the motor side of the slicer.

Fig. 3 is a top .view of the slicer.

Fig. 4 is a section onrline 44, of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the position of the grinder device during the knife sharpening operation.

Fig. 6 is a rear view of the grinder, and

Figs. 7 and 8 are sections on lines 7-7 and 8-8- respectively of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the slicing machine comprises a base 10 on which is mounted a motor 11 connected by a belt 12 to the pulley 13 which carries knife 14. The pulley is provided with a shaft 15 journalled in the hub 16 on the pedestal 17 which is integral with the frame 18 having radial arms 19 and 20 on the motor side of the knife. The bushing 21 lining the hub on which the shaft of the pulley is mounted has a depression therein in which is set a screw 23 threaded through the hub 16 (see Fig. 4). After assembling the knife and pulley in the hub the set screw 23 is tightened, thus preventing adjustment of the knife and knife pulley relative to the frame 18.

On the feed side of the knife the base carries a round rail 25 supported by posts 26 and a flat r rail 2''? vertically underneath the round rail. The article holding carriage 28 is slidably mounted on these rails for movement to and from the knife. The carriage may be provided with any suitable clamping means for clamping an article to the carriage.

The radial arm 19 of the frame 18 is provided at its outer end with a horizontal extension 30, the vertical face of which is in flush abutment with a vertical surface of the gauge plate housing 31, a screw binding together the extension and housing, which is further supported by an angular piece 32 carried at one end by the right hand post (as viewed in Fig. 2) and at the other end bolted to the bottom of the gauge plate housing. The gauge plate 33 (Fig. 1) may be adjusted by any well-known means to adjust the thickness of slice to be cut. The op erating means for the gauge plate adjusting device comprises a handle 34 and an index plate 35 movable therewith and cooperating with a pointer-36 to indicate the gauge plate adjustment. A cover 37 for the gauge plate housing is fast thereto.

In previous machines of this type it has been known to use a cover plate for the feed side of the knife which in order to guard the rear edge of the knife has been deflected outwardly from the plane of the knife. Consequently, the article on the feed carriage could not move past the deflected portion of a cover plate without being forced away from the knife plane. The feeding stroke of the machine and the length of slice to be cut was thereby limited.

In the present construction the feeding carriage is free to move past the rear edge of the knife since the cover plate 40 is not offset from the plane of the rear edge of the knife but sets entirely within the recess 41 of the knife. The

rear end of the knife is thus left uncovered. As the article moves past the rear edge of the knife it is necessary that a backing means be provided therefor to prevent its movement relative to the plane of the knife. Such movement would result in the tearing of the article by the knife and in a slice of varying thickness. The backing means in the present case consists of a lower flat plate substantially in the same plane as the rear knife edge and an upper flat plate 46 also in the same plane with the rear knife edge. In addition to serving as abutments-for the meat or other article after it passes the rear edge of the knife, these plates serve to guard the rear knife edge so thatv the operator cannot accidentally engage his fingers with said knife edge. The upper plate 46 further serves as a rear wall of the housing 50 for the knife grinding device while the lower plate 45 further serves as a cover for the drive means of the knife.

The grinder device is substantially of the same structure as shown in Patent 1,753,635. In brief, it comprises a grindstone 51 having 'a threaded stem 52 carried by the front wall of the housing 50 and provided with a knob 53 for adjusting it. A burringstone 54 is also provided witha threaded shaft 55 carried by the front wall of the housing 50 and provided with a manipulating knob 56.

The housing 56 has an integral sleeve 57 rotatably and slidably mounted on a stud 58 carried by the cars 59 of a U-shaped bracket 69 fastened to the inclined. face of the rear portion 61 of the knife carrying frame. lhe ears 59 each carry a plunger 62 adapted to seat in a corresponding notch 63 of sleeve 57 of the grinder housing. 'In operationthe grinder device is moved from an inoperative position in which the rear plate 46 guards the knife edge to an operative position in which the grinder 51 and the burring stone 54 may be moved into engagement with the knife edge, by first rotating the grinder device about the stud 58 away from the knife then moving the device along the stud 58 towards the plane of the knife and subsequently moving it towards the knife.

In grinding position, the left hand plunger 62 as seen in Fig. 6 engages in the corresponding recess 63 of the portion 57 and prevents rotation of the grinder device. In the non-grinding position the right hand stud engages the corresponding recess 63 to prevent rotation of the grinding device. In order to change from one position to another, it is necessary to retract the plunger engaging the recess 63.

A scraper is provided which consists of a spring metal strip 65 having a fibre block 66 at the end for engaging the knife. The strip 65 is fastened to a stud 6'7 rotatable on a pin'68.

. In order to prevent excess springiness of the I secured to the main frame 18. A pan '74 is provided beneath the scrapperto catch the scraps falling from the knife. The scrap pan has a front plate and a rearwardly extending curved bottom 76, the upper end of which catches under a spring latch 77. The plate'75 has at its lower end an inset lug 78 which catches on a proiection 79 on the frame 18 to prevent the movement of the scrap pan upwardly when the pan is in position.

The latch 77 prevents accidental movement of the scrap pan outwardly. Fastening means for the cover plate 40 comprises an upper set of pins 80, the heads 81 of which engage the cover plate when turned downwardly and'which when alined with the slots 82 of the upper cars 83 permit the cover plate to slip off the pins 80. Springs 84 located in recesses 85 of the radial arms 19 and 20 tend to hold the heads of the pins 80 in engagement with the cover ,plam. The lower end of the cover plate is held to the frame by pins 86 engaging in slots 87 of the lower deflected portion 88 of the cover plate. Pins 86 are urged by springs 89 in a direction to normally engage the cover plate.

The lower abutment plate 45 is removably fastened to the frame by latching elements 90 threaded into the frame 18 and which when moved into alignment with slots 91 in theplate permit removal of saidplate from the machine. The radial arm 20 carries at its upper end a hinge 92 on which is swin'gable the tubular guard 93 which guards the upper knife edge. The free end of the guard 93 is provided with a slot 94 which permits the guard 93 to be swung on the hinge 92 away from theknife when the latch 95 threaded in the arm 19 is, in alignment with the slot. Guard 93 can thereby be moved into a position in which the portion of the knife guarded thereby may be accessible for cleaning- A deflector plate 96 has a bearing sleeve 97 fixed to the rear side thereof which is pro vided with'an opening for. receiving the stud 98 fixed to the motor side of the knife frame 18. A'set screw 991s carried by the bearing lug for engagement with'the stud 98 to fiX the deflector in position. A projection 100 on the frame adjacent the back of the deflector plate engages the deflector to wedgingly cam the lower end thereof into engagement with the front of the upstanding fiange 101' of the receiving tray 102. firmly in place.

'Whlle there has been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single modification, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims. I V

I claim:

1. Ina slicing: machinega rotating knife for cutting ah article, an article feeding carriage traversing the knife, a gauge plate in advance of the'knife for engaging the article whilev it is being fed and for determiningthe thickness of slice to be cut by said knife, the article being pressed towards the knife while being fed past the knife, and an abutment in the rear of the knife lying in substantia'lly the same plane'as the rear of the knife for engaging the article while it is being cut'and after portionsthereof have'passed the rear of the knife to effectively prevent movement of the article transversely to the plane of the knife after passing the rear edge of the latter. 4 1

2. In a slicing machine,a rotating knifefor cutting an article fed past the knife in a direction substantially parallel tothe plane of the The receiving tray is thereby held knife, a gauge plate in advance of the knife for engaging the article while it is being cut and for determining the thickness of slice to be cut, driving means for the knife, 2. fiat wide abutment plate in the rear of the knife substantially in the plane of the rear of the knife for engaging the article while it is being cut and after portions thereof have passed the rear of the knife to substantially prevent movement of the article transverse to the plane of the knife after passing the rear edge of the knife, and means for housing the knife driving means including as a wall aforesaid abutment plate.

3. A slicing machine comprising a rotary knife for cutting an article fed past the knife in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the knife, the knife being provided with an annular recess surrounded by the cutting portion of the knife, a circular disk positioned in said recess and having the outer surface substan tially in the plane of the knife cutting portion, and an abutment plate substantially in the plane of the knife edge and substantially parallel to said disk and contiguous to the rear of the knife, both the disk and the abutment plate engaging the article to prevent movement thereof transverse to the plane of the knife while being cut.

4. A machine comprising a rotating knife for cutting an article fed past the knife in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the knife, grinding means for the knife, and a fiat abutment plate carried by the grinding device contiguous to the rear edge of the knife and substantially in the same plane as the rear of the knife for engaging the article portions which pass the rear of the knife to prevent movement of the article transverse to the plane of the knife while being cut.

5. In a slicing machine, a knife, a stationary frame for supporting the knife, means for moving an article to be out past the rear edge of the knife and while so moving being pressed towards the knife, a flat abutment plate of appreciable width extending substantially in the plane of the rear of the knife to prevent transverse movement of the article while passing the rear of the knife, and securing means directly engaging the abutment plate with the frame and removably securing the plate to the frame.

6. A slicing machine comprising a frame, a rotary knife having an annular recess, a disk abutment plate within the recess for engaging an article while being cut by the knife, a separate rear abutment plate exterior to the recess and forming a substantial prolongation of the disk plate, both plates serving to prevent movement of the article transverse to the knife while traversing the knife, means for removably securing the disk plate to said frame, and other means for securing the rear plate to said frame.

7. In a slicing machine, a knife and an article holding carriage relatively movable past each other to cause the knife to cut a slice from the article on the carriage, a supporting structure for mounting the knife, a removable cover plate lying between the article on the carriage and the face of the knife adjacent the article to abut the article while the knife is cutting a slice therefrom, the back of the cover plate 100 being in contact at its upper end with the supporting structure above the knife to define its operating position and having elongated apertures at its upper end, means for securing the cover plate to the supporting structure includ- 105 ing pins passing freely through said apertures into the supporting structure and freely rotatably mounted in the latter, said structure having bores therein in which the rear end of said pins are located, springs within said bores en- 1 gaging the pins to urge them towards the cover plate, and elongated heads on said pins having a single position relative to the face of the cover plate in which they are held in engagement with the cover plate by said springs for maintaining 115 the cover plate in contact with the supporting structure, said pins being rotatable to aline the heads with the apertures to permit removal of the cover plate from said pins.

CARROLL E. BREADEN. 

